free massage, the broke @$$ Wongstar way

So since doing my first triathlon in the summer of 2000, following my freshman year in college, I’ve successfully transitioned from:

broke college student/triathlete…

to broke graduate student/triathlete…

to broke orthotic resident/triathlete…

to broke prosthetic resident/triathlete…

to the current state of financial ruin: broke pro triathlete. aha!

The transitions have been smooth as I’ve never really known what it is like to have a lot of money while being a triathlete. I raced on the same road bike my first 7 seasons (and first 4 ironmans) because I didn’t have the money for a new tri bike. I just told people “One day I will get fast enough that a bike sponsor will give me a new bike.” Well lo and behold, I got my first Cervelo P2C “Blue Steel” a year and a half ago from the team, and then this year, my 2nd one already, “Khan the Warrior Horse.” I actually had to bite my tongue hard to keep myself from saying something silly like “But I just got a new bike, why do I need a new one already?”

A good portion of my money went to entry fees for racing. I try not to think about how much this has all added up to, but in my mind, I had always said “Someday I will be fast enough to go pro, and then they will let me race for free. In the meantime maybe some races have student discounts.”

Ahh…the magical student discount. Early on I had learned the trick that my college ID cards do not have an expiration date, and was/am still shameless about asking for a college discount. Movies, bike shops, even some grocery stores… With the advent of being on teamTBB and now the pro card, this of course has carried into “do you offer a pro discount?” Always with a charming smile, of course!

Then there’s the quandary with finding a good cheap massage. I first discovered the fabulousness of a great sports massage when I was a grad student in Atlanta. My coach at the time, Carole Sharpless, made me go see her massage therapist Collette Ragan at Georgia Sports Massage, who quickly became one of my very good friends. She indeed gave me the magical student discount, and when the summer was over and I refused to work at Red Lobster ever again (therefore having no income), I bartered with her by doing some office work in exchange for massages.

In the Philippines of course the massage was cheap and good. $6 for an hour, and my last few weeks there I upgraded to $10 for 90mins which include HOT STONES! WOW!! Coming back home it’s hard to find a good masseuse for even $60/hour, so instead I’ve recruited a couple of young half-Pinoys to the rescue. Yep, it’s the two little half-Chinese Concepcions, my niece and nephew, who will happily march up and down my back like it’s a game. Cayle is 8 years old and 50 lbs., while her “little” brother is 5 and 60 lbs. That’s not a typo.

ready, set, massage!

I like this game

easy cheesy I’m a ballerina

the hard day’s work begins

whoa losing my balance here

so when can I start jumping?

boing! boing! boing!

whew I’m worn out

what do you mean I can’t sleep on the job?

I'm surfing! I'm surfing!

I’m sure that I’m breaking some child labor laws, but they get paid in hugs and kisses and a good time is had by all…!

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under General.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.